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By Barbara Slavin This will be an inauguration like no other. As Donald Trump prepares to take the oath of office on Friday, the mood in Washington is expectant, anxious and defiant. A new Gallup poll shows that Trump – unlike any other president-elect in modern history – has actually lost popularity since the election. […]

The second-most dangerous thing in international politics is to draw a red line without truly meaning it…[b]ut the very most dangerous thing is to blur a red line that really is there. Donald Trump’s persistent soft talk invites the Russians to misconstrue what’s on the other side of that line.

If Dec. 7, 1941, is the day that Franklin D. Roosevelt said “will live in infamy,” then Dec. 20, 2016, has got to be a close second….Turkey, Iran and Russia met in Moscow to settle matters in the Middle East. The United States wasn’t even asked to the meeting.

Mr. Putin referred to Joseph Goebbels, the notorious Nazi minister of propaganda, as “a talented man who knew that the more incredible the lies, the quicker people believe them.” The quote, which he was using to condemn the West’s supposed misrepresentation of Russian history, was in fact the best indication of Mr. Putin’s own creed.

By Barbara Slavin At long last, 2016 is almost behind us. For the majority of Americans who voted for Hillary Clinton and for millions beyond our borders, 2017 is filled with apprehension. But in the spirit of a new year, this analyst hopes that Donald Trump will exceed expectations and that those who opposed him […]

Neither Russia nor Turkey has any interest in blowing this out of proportion. Rapprochement between the two countries has been coming along nicely after relations hit rock bottom following Turkey’s shoot-down of a Russian fighter jet more than a year ago, and both sides have more to gain by having the relationship staying on track…

NATO will celebrate its 70th birthday in 2019. Its original intent was to protect against a resurgence of Germany and to stymie the Communist bear. Times change and so must NATO. The United States and a new NATO must turn to de-escalating tensions with Russia.

Despair. Destruction. Death. Words that have come to describe the Syrian city of Aleppo, epicenter for the Syrian civil war.

Anti-government rebels started taking parts of Aleppo in early 2012, eventually controlling the eastern half of the historic city. With the help of Russian air strikes starting in 2015, forces loyal to President Bashir al-Assad made gains in western Aleppo.

Now, with the evacuation of rebels and civilians in progress under a tenuous ceasefire, those pro-Assad forces on the precipice of controlling the entire city.

Estimates of the death toll in Syria’s civil war run as high as 450,000, including 50,000 children. Almost five million people have fled the country and more than six-and-a-half million are displaced within Syria’s borders.

Donald Trump is drawing praise and criticism for his out-of-the-box choice for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson.

As the CEO of oil giant ExxonMobil, Tillerson has had to make deals with some of the world’s most notorious leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Some of Tillerson’s fiercest critics are Senate Republicans, such as Marco Rubio, who will question Tillerson during his confirmation hearing before the Foreign Relations Committee.

Tillerson has his supporters, too. Former Defense Secretary and CIA Director Robert Gates called him a man of “great integrity” with “vast knowledge, experience and success in dealing with dozens of governments and leaders.”

An Eagle Scout who is still involved in the leadership of the Boy Scouts of America, Tillerson worked his way from bottom to top at ExxonMobile. He’s known no other employer and will be the first to jump from corporate America to top U.S. diplomat with no prior political or government experience.

By Barbara Slavin Almost everything about this political year has shattered precedent. Still, the CIA’s conclusion that Russian government-instigated cyber warriors actively promoted Donald Trump’s victory throws our system into truly frightening, uncharted territory. It has been known for months that Russian hackers stole emails from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, […]

Because of its location, Georgia is an indispensable partner in the fight against the traffic of arms, nuclear materials, biological agents and ISIS fighters. And Georgians have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in Kosovo, the Central African Republic and the Mediterranean. And Georgia carries its own weight.

By Barbara Slavin In between Twitter outbursts at the Broadway hit Hamilton, President-elect Donald Trump has been interviewing Cabinet picks — and meeting investors in his far-flung business empire. A week after his upset win over Hillary Clinton, Trump greeted Indian partners Atul Chordia, Sagar Chordia and Kalpesh Mehta at Trump Tower in New York. […]

[W]e need to send a resolute message that Russia’s domestic tyranny and international belligerence have consequences. And we must make abundantly clear that there is a cost to attacking the United States, whether accomplished by a MiG or a mouse.

Before handing the keys to the White House to Donald Trump, Barack Obama is taking a final, presidential lap around the world.

Obama started his three country trip in the birthplace of democracy, Greece. Then it’s on to Berlin to thank Chancellor Angela Merkel for her support during his term. The pair will also meet with the leaders of Great Britain, France, Italy and Spain. Afterward, Obama flies to Peru for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

In each stop, American allies, and perhaps some foes, will seek reassurance from Obama about the future under a Trump presidency.

With names like former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, former U.N. ambassador John Bolton, Senate Foreign Relations chairman Bob Corker and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley floated as possible choices for Trump’s Secretary of State, there is no shortage of foreign policy speculation and suggestions.